Gul Dukat, one of the most three dimensional villains TV has ever seen

[Farscape One]

I would argue the writers were consistant with Dukat the entire series.

At the core, he is self-centered and wants the universe to acknowledge his greatness. Everything he did from being Prefect of the Occupation to switching government sides in "THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR" to his "I am the only Cardassian left!" speech to Kira and going on a crusade against the Klingons to his deal with the Dominion to the Pah-Wraith cult to his getting blinded to get the secrets of the book.

Everything was about his need to be adored and loved and acknowledged as great by everyone... even his enemies. His line to Weyoun about making your enemies see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place was probably the most telling piece of dialogue for his mode of thinking.

When he went nuts, it was because his self image was finally broken. Ziyal was probably the only Bajoran, despite being half, that truly loved him... and he had a deep need to feel the love of a Bajoran because he was doing them a 'favor' by being so 'kind'.

When she was killed, it shattered that love, and I think that's what ultimately broke him for that bit.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

I would argue the writers were consistant with Dukat the entire series.

At the core, he is self-centered and wants the universe to acknowledge his greatness. Everything he did from being Prefect of the Occupation to switching government sides in "THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR" to his "I am the only Cardassian left!" speech to Kira and going on a crusade against the Klingons to his deal with the Dominion to the Pah-Wraith cult to his getting blinded to get the secrets of the book.

Everything was about his need to be adored and loved and acknowledged as great by everyone... even his enemies. His line to Weyoun about making your enemies see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place was probably the most telling piece of dialogue for his mode of thinking.

When he went nuts, it was because his self image was finally broken. Ziyal was probably the only Bajoran, despite being half, that truly loved him... and he had a deep need to feel the love of a Bajoran because he was doing them a 'favor' by being so 'kind'.

When she was killed, it shattered that love, and I think that's what ultimately broke him for that bit.

Pretty much.

 

[HelenofBorg]

I would argue the writers were consistant with Dukat the entire series.

At the core, he is self-centered and wants the universe to acknowledge his greatness. Everything he did from being Prefect of the Occupation to switching government sides in "THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR" to his "I am the only Cardassian left!" speech to Kira and going on a crusade against the Klingons to his deal with the Dominion to the Pah-Wraith cult to his getting blinded to get the secrets of the book.

Everything was about his need to be adored and loved and acknowledged as great by everyone... even his enemies. His line to Weyoun about making your enemies see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place was probably the most telling piece of dialogue for his mode of thinking.

When he went nuts, it was because his self image was finally broken. Ziyal was probably the only Bajoran, despite being half, that truly loved him... and he had a deep need to feel the love of a Bajoran because he was doing them a 'favor' by being so 'kind'.

When she was killed, it shattered that love, and I think that's what ultimately broke him for that bit.

Good point, I'd also argue that it shows he was actually quite mentally ill. This need for adoration of others, even those he abuses is quite akin to Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Yes, Ziyal loved him, but that was because he was her father. If she had met him at random as a stranger, she would have probably hated him like most other characters did. Let's not forget, Kira had to persuade him not to kill her.

 

[Farscape One]

Even knowing she was his daughter, she was half-Bajoran, and in Dukat's mind that was likely still enough.

 

[LisaSimpson2]

I'm in a Facebook group that is run by women who are VERY into Marc/Dukat. It seems they are attracted to both of them. They post drawings of a half naked Dukat.

Oooo yeah! I'm in that same Facebook group! But please, tell me... where are these pictures of a naked or semi-naked Dukat that you speak of?! LOL omg I must see those!!! I've always found Dukat to be extremely sexy! I'm utterly in love with the man <3

 

[Beckerjr]

She started off that way yes, but she grew extremely jealous of Siskos role as the Emissary. Most of her religious 'devotion' was in fact political posturing.

Agreed. Wynn was always just a power, and glory seeking politician disguised as a religious figure. The prophets were tool for her. Then she lets herself be used by Dukat because she thinks the Pah Wraiths will give it to her.

As for Dukat. His arc may not have ended the way some wanted but he was still a fun character who had far more development than many main characters on most Trek shows. One of the great aspects of DS9 was the great cast of recurring characters like Dukat, Garak, and Nog.

 

[HelenofBorg]

Agreed. Wynn was always just a power, and glory seeking politician disguised as a religious figure. The prophets were tool for her. Then she lets herself be used by Dukat because she thinks the Pah Wraiths will give it to her.

As for Dukat. His arc may not have ended the way some wanted but he was still a fun character who had far more development than many main characters on most Trek shows. One of the great aspects of DS9 was the great cast of recurring characters like Dukat, Garak, and Nog.

Actually, I quite liked Dukat's arc, the way his character changed and developed over time, and how his priorities shifted was interesting to say the least. I think it's true of DS9 in general, more character development than in other trek series.

 

[PR109]

I disagree. In Star Trek? Maybe? In TV as a whole? Nope. He was a very complex villain in from seeasons 1 - 5 but he lost his magic and turned into the typical hollywood mustache twirling villain. He became predictable and they completely ruined his character by the last season.

 

[Kor]

Probably for the best. Anything more specific than "trust in the Prophets" or generalities as "love is better than hate" would have opened a can of worms, especially as this religion has been established as at least partly "true", to the extent that those Prophets actually exist and do guide their Emissary ... so you wouldn't want it to start resembling anything that could pass as an actual religion too much.

Besides belief in these supernatural prophets who inhabit a "Celestial Temple," we know that the Bajoran religious system placed great importance on prophecies of the future that were received from the prophets, as well as personal orb experiences. And apparently, in certain interpretations, the old Bajoran caste system was considered part of the path that the prophets had set for the Bajoran people.

Kor

 

[Bad Thoughts]

he lost his magic and turned into the typical hollywood mustache twirling villain

Do typically Hollywood moustache twirling villains have religious agendas?

 

[at Quark's]

Besides belief in these supernatural prophets who inhabit a "Celestial Temple," we know that the Bajoran religious system placed great importance on prophecies of the future that were received from the prophets, as well as personal orb experiences. And apparently, in certain interpretations, the old Bajoran caste system was considered part of the path that the prophets had set for the Bajoran people.

Kor

Yes, if you look at it that way, we know still more. There's also those religious festivals or times they sometimes tell us about, for example the Gratitude festival (with some details such as the Renewal Scrolls) or the Month of Cleansing during which they supposedly don't go to Quark's (and probably abstain from a lot of other things, too). So I'll have to admit I was more thinking along the lines of statements of how their systematic theology is supposed to work.

Also, I've been wondering exactly how "available" a personal orb experience is to the average Bajoran. There are only nine of them, and some may still be in Cardassian possession. I mean, sure, the Kai, or the Emissary, or his first aide (Kira) can go to an orb whenever they need to, but how about Jane Average from one of those impoverished provinces? If they wanted to see one of those orbs, wouldn't the experience be more like, say, watching the crown jewels in the Tower, where you have like 15 seconds or so because the next one in the queue also wants to see them?

 

[GulBahana]

Oooo yeah! I'm in that same Facebook group! But please, tell me... where are these pictures of a naked or semi-naked Dukat that you speak of?! LOL omg I must see those!!! I've always found Dukat to be extremely sexy! I'm utterly in love with the man <3

You should be able to find them if you scroll enough. The drawings are of Cardassian abs. They didn't show those on the show so Dukat fans have it left to their imaginations.

 

[Kor]

Yes, if you look at it that way, we know still more. There's also those religious festivals or times they sometimes tell us about, for example the Gratitude festival (with some details such as the Renewal Scrolls) or the Month of Cleansing during which they supposedly don't go to Quark's (and probably abstain from a lot of other things, too). So I'll have to admit I was more thinking along the lines of statements of how their systematic theology is supposed to work.

Also, I've been wondering exactly how "available" a personal orb experience is to the average Bajoran. There are only nine of them, and some may still be in Cardassian possession. I mean, sure, the Kai, or the Emissary, or his first aide (Kira) can go to an orb whenever they need to, but how about Jane Average from one of those impoverished provinces? If they wanted to see one of those orbs, wouldn't the experience be more like, say, watching the crown jewels in the Tower, where you have like 15 seconds or so because the next one in the queue also wants to see them?

It seemed like Kira was able to just walk into the temple and go right to the orb, no questions asked. There weren't a ton of Bajorans waiting in line and clamoring for their chance to see the orb. Maybe they only consult an orb if they are dealing with some really important, world-shattering matters.

Kor

 

[WinterSoldier]

He has three dimensions: very evil, sleazy condescending wannabe Daddy, and a force of single-minded ambition leading to almost total apathy towards everyone else. He is a really good complicated villain but he should have been handed over to the Bajorans to be executed for war crimes.

 

[at Quark's]

It seemed like Kira was able to just walk into the temple and go right to the orb, no questions asked. There weren't a ton of Bajorans waiting in line and clamoring for their chance to see the orb. Maybe they only consult an orb if they are dealing with some really important, world-shattering matters.
Kor

Yeah, it seems so, but it would mean that either the Bajoran people exercise a wonderful or even almost incredible degree of self-restraint (if we had such devices on earth (and only 9 of them at most), people would be flooding to get to them), or that the Bajoran population (or at least the number of believers) is actually quite low. Do we know how many Bajorans there are ?

Back on topic: I'd argue the most, eurm, three-dimensional villain I have seen in SF would be Jabba the Hutt.

 

[Maurice]

Re the topic title: hyperbole much? 70+ years of TV in the US he's one of the most three-dimensional? Maybe in SciFi TV, but I doubt anyone's really done any legwork to determine this in the broader sense. And then there's all the TV on the rest of the planet that's not in English and not seen here.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

A great villain!
OK, the whole Pah-Wraith concept was a bit over the top for me but Dukat was still a great villain even in that scenario.
And I liked the Dukat-Winn connection. A beautiful team!

I felt his giving himself to the Bajoran equivalent of Satan actually made sense.
As for knocking boots with Winn Adami, I actually found that rather funny.

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

I think Dukat was a good villian. Got to see him on top and "in the zone" and at the bottom. Of course I just loved it when things didn't go his way. Not his losing his daughter. But other things like When the station turned against him and he got stuck on it from a program he wrote. And his boss used the program to trap Dukat! I love that one. I also really like when he and Garak would "talk". I have to say I didn't really like Dukat being with the Pa'rafs (don't know how to spell it) but I didn't go for it. And I always wanted there to be a fight with each other or against with Dukat and Garak. I thought they had a lot of unfinished business together. Though, I didn't like what they did with Dumar.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I dunno, we knew Gul Dukat was a Space Nazi who engaged in sexual slavery, regular slavery, and mass executions from Episode One. He was also gleefully unrepentant about it and actually thought his problem was that he was far too soft on the Bajorans. He had some people that he loved but that actually makes him worse. Part of what makes him work for me is that he is such an irredeemable scumbag who sold out his home planet to rule it.

He just has a high charisma score in D&D terms.

I don't actually see him making a deal with literal demons being any different from dealing with the Dominion.

 

[Athena28]

Great character.